Ahead of the important match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023, India captain Rohit Sharma has lavished praise on Babar Azam’s side, which recently became the number 1 ranked ICC Men’s ODI team in the world.
Pakistan have been in superb form in ODIs in the last three years. Since 2021, they have won 19 of the 27 ODIs they have played; their Win-Loss Ratio of 2.375 is the best in the world in this period. India are not too far behind: they have won 27 ODIs – the most in the world since 2021 – out of 42 since 2021, and their Win-Loss Ratio of 2.076 is second only to Pakistan among Full Member teams.
Both the teams are packed with superstar cricketers, and this could make this contest a really close one.
Rohit Sharma admitted that Pakistan are a “quality” team who have “a lot of unity” in the players.
“Pakistan are a quality side. They have been terrific in the last few years. Be it in the T20 World Cup or in bilateral series, they have done well. There’s a reason behind them being the number-one ranked team in ODIs. There’s a lot of hard work behind it. I’m sure they have worked really hard to be in this position and plus, they have a lot of unity in the team. They are in good form, so it will be a tough challenge for us to get the job done,” Rohit said in the pre-match press conference on Friday.
“However, we have prepared well. We have improved in certain areas. Hopefully, we will be able to apply the things we have planned in the match.”
Rohit Sharma explains how Indian batters will tackle the Pakistani fast bowlers
One of the biggest questions, or concerns among the minds of the Indian fans is how will India’s batsmen tackle the triple threat of Pakistan’s fast bowlers – Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf.
Rohit Sharma has a “simple” plan for that. The Indian captain believes his batters will call upon their experience of playing them in the past.
“All three of them are quality bowlers. They are doing well for a few years now. See, Pakistan always had quality bowlers. Now, we have seen them a lot and learnt about their strengths, the areas they can bowl and other such things. So, we will just have to use our experience to get going. It is as simple as that,” Rohit asserted.
